THE Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio has set the new benchmark for a production SUV at Germany's legendary Nurburgring circuit, lapping the 12.9 mile Nordschleife in a record 7 minutes 51.7 seconds.

The new time is a full eight seconds faster than the previous production SUV record.

Italian Fabio Francia, the same driver who previously set the fastest Nurburgring track record for four-door saloons in the Giulia Quadrifoglio with a lap time of 7 minutes and 32 seconds, was behind the wheel.

The range-topping Stelvio is powered by a direct-injection 2.9-litre 24-valve Twin-Turbo intercooled V6 engine, developing 510bhp and paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission with specific settings for shifting in just 150 milliseconds in Race mode.